A symposium on auditory biochemistry is planned for February 5-7, 1984, at St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, as part of the 1984 meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology. Nine foreign speakers and 21 domestic speakers will participate. The symposium will consist of four, one-half-day sessions: "Biochemistry of Auditory Receptoneural Transmission," "Biochemistry of Central Auditory Neurotransmission," "Biochemistry of Auditory Structural Elements," and "Biochemistry of Auditory Support Systems." A primary aim of this proposed international symposium is to convene leading research scientists for the purpose of defining auditory biochemistry through state-of-the-science reports, personal communication, synthesis of past and current concepts, and suggestions for future research. Definite concepts will later be documented in an edited book, with symposium sessions as book divisions and presentations as chapters. A long-term aim of this symposium, and of the subsequent, planned book, is to draw young investigators and students into the field of auditory biochemistry. Because a wealth of useful biomedical information has emerged from biochemical studies of other systems, the biochemistry of the auditory system promises to yield similar gains in health-related knowledge. Research stimulated by the present symposium should further the development of new drugs and treatments for tinnitus, vertigo, noise-induced and presbycusic hearing deficits, labyrinthine vascular disorders, and genetic hearing defects. In addition, the advancement of the basic understanding of auditory neurotransmission, auditory structural elements, labyrinthine fluid transport, and auditory metabolism should provide rationale for future therapies.